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Rising Up! is run by volunteers and people can do what they want, so long as it doesn't contradict our principles and values. This has been shown to be a good way of organising, it helps a network to grow when people don't have to ask for permission to act. This means that things may happen using #RisingUp! as a name that those managing the website are less aware of. People in charge of campaigns may change and so on. If you want to create your own local Rising Up! group or campaign, great, and please let us know at https://risingup.org.uk/contact. If it feels a little chaotic as a result please forgive us! If you have any edits or updates for this page contact us at https://risingup.org.uk/contact and if you'd like to receive the Rising Up! newsletter sign up on the website by entering your email on the top right and clicking 'sign up'.

Here are our current campaigns (updated August 2017)

Stop Killing Londoners

London, one of the greatest cities in the world. Population 8 million+ and the very air we breathe is killing us by the thousands each year. Stop Killing Londoners is a new new open direct action campaign mobilising London communities to demand action on air pollution. We offer tips on organising in your local area. Our campaign will culminate in co-ordinated road blockades across the city. See facebook page here.

Cancel the CONtract

Campaign in Gloucestershire to stop the building of a super-expensive, toxin-creating, air-polluting, climate-changing incinerator on our doorstep (at Javelin Park). The contract is so SUPER-EXPENSIVE that it will be CHEAPER TO CANCEL than to continue - even now that work has begun. It is NOT the only alternative to landfill, & it is more expensive than ANY other option (including landfill or trucking waste to an incinerator elsewhere!). Legal challenges, petitions, motions to cancel, official questions & complaints have encountered a STONEWALL OF DENIAL & continual stream of MISINFORMATION from Glos County Council. Every area of the Council's budget has been slashed - EXCEPT for waste, which is going up because of this awful contract. Our public money will literally go up in TOXIC SMOKE. This is unacceptable. We WILL make our voices heard, & if that means a little PEACEFUL MISCHIEF, there are some among us who are willing to take that step into civil disobedience (non-violent of course). We are not willing to negotiate on the health of our families, communities & landscape & we intend to make that clear - & to HAVE FUN doing it. This facebook page has been created to publicise a carnival series of PEACEFUL CITIZENS' ACTIONS, events & protests which all are welcome to participate in - bring banners, voices, colours & tambourines... If you're willing to stick your neck out a little further & more MISCHIEVOUSLY at these occasions, please MESSAGE US for more info.

The defense laid out an argument for “reasonable excuse” to justify the actions of the protestors. Compelling evidence of air pollution, community damage and climate change were presented alongside the point that democracy has failed and that such actions are the only way to get heard.

One of the defendants, Stu, was grilled in the doc as to whether he had tried alternative methods to getting his message across that didn’t severely disrupt and inconvenience travellers. He responded that he had helped to organise a march 25,000 people but it had received less publicity than the action to block the tunnel at Heathrow. Simon, who had broken bail conditions to participate in the protest and had stated he was willing to risk going to jail to take a stance for sanity and future generations also explained that public engagement can involve a process of polarising opinion in which people feel offended by the action but nevertheless talk about the issue at hand as a result. All defendants expressed their regret and conflict at having caused disruption for passengers, but stated that they felt the severity of the bigger issues at stake justified their actions. They stated they considered the disruption of losing a family member due to air pollution to be far greater than the inconvenience caused on the day. One of the defendants, Daniel, said, "It is clear that what we call democracy has become redundant and ineffective in dealing with such vital issues”.

The cleaners won their campaign on June 7th. So well done to the UVW trade union and the Justice for LSE cleaners campaigners for a totally fantastic win. Thirty years of growing neglect, cruelty and outright corporate greed towards workers and staff at the school is going to change into something beautiful and life affirming. Rising Up! activists broke bail conditions to carry on chalking on the institution to raise awareness of the issues of deep inequality. See campaign facebook page here.

Barclays #ToxicBankers

Barclays #ToxicBankers- SUCCESS! they are going to divest!

In early May, as part of Global Divestment Mobilisation, groups #RisingUp across the UK took part in actions to demand Barclays Bank Divest from Third Energy (they have a 97% stake in this fracking company). Barclays have announced they will be divesting! WooHoo! There have been ongoing campaigns from People and Planet, Sum of Us and Friends of the Earth. Rising Up! added to this energy with our spray chalk actions in Edinburgh, Huddersfield, Stroud, Oxford and across Bristol, in some cases leading to arrests. They were friendly actions (staff were often offered tea and cakes and a letter of explanation) but we feel also included a level of confrontation that evidence shows is required as part of change processes. IF YOU TOOK PART in these actions.. thank you! A principle in Rising Up is to reflect on our actions- how did it go? Let us know here! More information here.

WAKE UP UK Citizens! – You don’t have a genuine democracy! So GE2017 is done. There are some victories to celebrate. Justice, peace and a world fit for future generations feel possible. But we mustn't just play the rigged game of their #FakeDemocracy. Here's why the Tories still have a bigger share of the vote, watch video. The “playing field” is almost vertical – we have a system rigged for the rich and corporations and it is leading to fascism. Rising Up! is calling for mass civil disobedience with ideas for actions here. Here are 15 ways to Fake a Democracy. Let's take on the #ToxicMedia